Back of the Napkin
Where all budgets thrive
Full Disclosure
I’m in my mid-thirties and have made budgets when necessary but can’t call myself a “budgeter.” I remember having conversations with my parents, my dad in particular, about taking finance classes so I could learn how to balance a check book. I did my best to smile and nod (or whatever the equivalent is over the phone) but never took one of those classes. I was too busy studying philosophy and religion, imagining fantasy worlds, and partaking in vices like most of my college aged peers (read that last one however you’d like, I’m not sharing any particulars).
That said, I’ve always been pretty good with money. So much so that in 2020 during the global pause, as I affectionately was calling it before any of us knew any better, I had an extra grand or 2 (more like 7 to be exact, but who is counting?) to spend on this little endeavor. Fast forward to October of that year and I had enough of a project to go to Kickstarter and the rest is history.
After raising just shy of 40k across 6 campaigns ($38,129 to be exact… now I’m counting) I’m sort of back where I was in early 2020. A story on my heart, some art worth sharing, except this time I don’t have that extra cash floating around (most of that is tied up in this new house of ours plus the day to day expenditures that come with taking care of a toddler). I’d been planning on making a comic series since early 2016 so when the timing aligned the money was there to make what was a dream into a reality.
The stakes are a lot higher these days. Without boring you let’s suffice it to say that I need to swing and swing big if I am going to meet my expectations of finishing The Rule of Nine by the end of 2025. I have 3 completely colored books to letter and solidify covers for and then I am heading back to Kickstarter for my most audacious launch to date.
3 Books, A Serialized Release, and the Next Phase
This launch will focus on issues 8, 9, and 10 and set the stage for the escalation of events all across Amashik that’ll eventually culminate in the end of this storyline. My plan is to launch in February or March and begin fulfillment the following month. After funding (speak it into existence…) I will ship issue 8 along with some specific goodies to all domestic backers, a month after I’ll ship issue 9 with more story specific rewards, and the following month do the same for issue 10.
There will be some cool options in addition to these, for example you can snag a triple issue and get everything at once so long as you’re willing to wait until I ship the single issue floppies for issue 10.
I’ll also be offering another collector’s box (this one will be even better than the first) also to be shipped with issue 10; for my international folks, you’ll have your pick of all three as well, you just won’t have yours shipped until, you guessed it, I ship issue 10 domestically. A tall order for sure but I’m not new to this Kickstarter thing and I’ve had a long break I need to hit the ground running this year.
Why so much at once? I need the cash to get the next phase of Ennead: The Rule of Nine started. Luke Horsman is actually half way through issue 11 and just waiting for me to give him the green light to get started again. Some of the funds from this campaign will go directly to him while the rest will be divided up for the rest of the team to get started on issues 12, 13, and 14. As well as the obvious fulfillment that will need to be paid for and take place.
The funding goal for this one is going to be $10,000.
That’s a big deal. I’ve never raised that much in one launch (closest is $9,600 and change) but I need it. Here’s where the since buried title of this post comes into play:
Finish and color Issue 11 and associated cover art: $4,500 +/-
Non-comic rewards (pay for art, print, etc): $1,500 +/-
Fulfill (Ship 8, 9, as well as print and ship 10): $3,500 +/-
That leaves about $500 before Kickstarter and CC processing fees. So even if I swing and connect with this $10,000 goal I’ll be lucky if I can take my wife out to dinner with what’s left. I’m not asking for pity, just being honest about the game of independent creation. This doesn’t take into account all the money spent out of pocket to pay artists for work as it has been completed (I have no outstanding invoices) since the money from the last launch ran out. Nor does it consider the fact that I’ll be printing issues 8 and 9 upfront in order to meet my tight fulfillment windows.
I know what you’re thinking:
“Hey asshole, you should probably trade that napkin for a spreadsheet.”
Okay, be nice… I do have a spreadsheet for Ennead, so this isn’t mismanagement of funds as much as it is a delayed ROI. I’ve easily invested over $50,000 (personal and crowdfunded) into this project and want to see it through. I know one of these days I will launch a campaign that will 5 or 10x my funding goal and set this project up to be finished with the same quality and gusto it began with.
The other side of the napkin
As a creative, the front side of the napkin is reserved for art. Ennead: The Rule of Nine’s days may be numbered but the characters and fantasy world it brought to life are far from dead yet. This Substack is churning back to life week by week as my desire to write is flooding back after my extended time off. Short stories, vignettes, serialized work are all going to continue here throughout the remainder of 2024 and beyond. I’m even toying with the idea of doing a full-on re-write of The Rule of Nine in novel form… we’ll see.
If you joined in the second half of 2023 you noticed no paid options for subscribers here and if you’ve been here longer and were a paid subscriber you know those payments are on pause. Payments are set to begin again on February 1st. So if you’re reading this and would like to opt out of resuming as a paid subscriber now is the time. I will honor my word and leave everything this has been free, free. Which means everything posted prior to 2/1/24 will be free for all to read.1
That’s somewhere in the ballpark of 200 comic pages, 20,000 words of prose, plus commentary and behind the scenes insight into Ennead and Amashik. I’m pretty damn proud of that.
The Wall
So what will be on the other side of the paywall?
The serialized exclusives The Birthright and The Acolyte
Any/all new comic pages posted after 2/1/24
Most author commentary and behind the scenes looks at Amashik, Ennead and TRoN
Anything new and cool that I haven’t thought of yet
And on the free side?
All vignettes
New short stories (think serialized vignettes as well as stories of 1000>)
Newsletters
Previews of all paid posts
The toughest part of creating online is deciding what to charge for your work. Value and cost aren’t the same despite their deep connection. I value my work, I respect the fact that everyone is working hard to maintain a living these days as well. I contemplated a price drop, a price hike, and ultimately decided that prices will be set as follows:
The Founding Member plan dropped a few suggested dollars and will come with some added perks, like early access to serials, as well as special offers for the given the year. In 2024 the rewards will be as follows:
Color copy of Volume 1
Single Issue of Ennead: The Rule of Nine with limited Kickstarter Exclusive cover
3 Prints
Sticker Pack
The monthly and yearly ultimately stayed the same. I plan on giving even more content this year and beyond on both sides of the paywall so there are no losers there. The choice is simple:
Do you want to keep up with my creative work and stay up to date as I release new material? The paywall it is.
Or do you want to just keep up with me and hear my opinions on fantasy, fiction, the creative process, and more? Simply subscribe for free.
Since you made it this far…
Enjoy some sneak peaks at some cool stuff set to release as a part of my next Kickstarter:
I know, you’re excited aren’t you? Watch this space.
JL
It may take some time to sort this out on the back end. At the time of writing it is pretty tough to tell whether or not old paywalled items are paywalled given the fact that I currently have subscriptions paused. It is my ultimate goal to make sure that all “archived” material from prior to 2/1/24 is free by 3/1/24.
Excited for the next Kickstarter!